Criminal Law Notes

Emile Durkheim's Idea:
- Crime shows what's okay and not okay in society. When people are punished, it makes the rules clear.
- Think of a cow and an electric fence. The shock tells the cow where it can't go, and other cows learn from that.
Things Change:
- What we think is okay changes over time.
- Tattoos used to be seen as bad, but now many people have them.
- Laws about drugs like marijuana are changing as people's views change.
Even Saints Need Rules:
- Even if everyone was good, we'd still need rules to keep things running smoothly.
- Rules give us certainty and keep us safe every day.
- Like kids needing rules to grow up well.

What Morality Means:
- Morality is about the rules, good actions, and values that most people in a society agree on.
- It comes from what we've been through together and our history.
- Morality can be different in different places.
Main Moral Agreements:
- Most people agree on basic morals, like not killing, having sex crimes, or stealing.
- But people have different ideas about morality because of their religion and personal beliefs.

Two Ways of Thinking:
- Idealism: Cares about the process and what we want to achieve; focuses on how things "should be" in a perfect world.
- Pragmatism: Cares about how things "are"; focuses on reaching goals based on what's real and what we know.
- Idealists are the thinkers; pragmatists use numbers, facts, and science.
- Ideal Example: Philosophy department.
- Pragmatic Example: Biology department.
Both Together:
- Most of us are a mix of both.
- Laws and running a country need both ways of thinking.

What Happened:
- In the early 1960s, England looked at laws about prostitution and homosexual behavior.
- Lord Woolfington led a group to decide if these private acts should be legal.
History:
- In the past, these acts were illegal to keep society moral.
Woolfington Report (1963):
- It said that public prostitution should be controlled because it affects society.
- But private prostitution and homosexual behavior should be legal because what adults do in private is their own business.
The Discussion:
- This started a big argument between two law experts, Patrick Devlin (idealist) and HLA Hart (pragmatist).

Patrick Devlin: Legal Moralism
- He thought laws should control morality.
- He believed in truths from the Bible; morality, especially religious morality, should be the basis for laws.
- Many U.S. laws are based on things outlawed in the Christian Bible.
- Other countries base their laws on religious texts like the Koran and Sharia law.
HLA Hart: Legal Positivism
- He said laws are made by people, not based on religious morality.
- Laws shouldn't control morality but should aim to do the most good for the most people (utilitarianism).
- Laws should be based on facts, with illegal actions causing harm and legal actions creating good.
Today's View:
- Today's laws mix moral and practical ideas.
- Laws against drugs, alcohol, and sex are based on moral/religious ideas.
- Society agrees that some immoral acts, like adult-underage sex, should be illegal, but not everyone agrees on this.
Law and Okay Behavior:
- Law says what's okay, and immoral acts are often made illegal.
- But not all immoral behavior is illegal (like yelling at a student).

What It Is:
- Laws that control what people do to protect them from themselves.
- Examples: Seat belt laws, helmet laws, life jacket rules.
It Applies To:
- Drug and alcohol use.
The Question:
- How much should laws control private behavior to protect people?

Religion:
- Many laws come from religious ideas.
- Christianity and Old Testament law (Mosaic law) have influenced legal rules.
- Examples: Laws against murder, theft, lying; health and safety rules.
Practicality:
- Laws for keeping society running smoothly, not necessarily based on morals or religion.
United States Law:
- A mix of laws based on religious morality and practical needs.
Statutes:
- Laws passed by the government, signed by the leader, and enforced by the police.
- Courts interpret these laws.
History:
- The first written law was about 5,000 years ago in Ur.
- The Code of Hammurabi (Babylonia, 1790-1750 BC) is similar to modern law.
How Law Became Common Law:
- Before the Norman period, the king and his people made legal decisions without neutral judges.
- William created courts where judges traveled to make decisions every seven years.

Norman Period:
- Courts and judges were developed.
Judges' Decisions:
- Judges wrote down their decisions to keep things consistent.
- This created a structured legal system.
Focus:
- Keeping order and following the king's rules, not just protecting victims.
How It Grew:
- Law made by judges, written down to keep things stable.
- This led to common law.
In the United States:
- The U.S. adopted English common law because of colonization, except in Louisiana, which mixes French civil law and English common law.
Modern Law:
- Mostly written statutes today.
What Is a Crime:
- A crime is an act that breaks a law, either by doing something you shouldn't or not doing something you should.
- Penal Code 15
Fairness:
- People can't be found guilty if they didn't know their actions were against the law.
Limits on Law:
- Laws can't be changed to punish actions that were legal when they happened.

Criminal Law:
- Enforces society's rules and controls behavior.
- The government prosecutes on behalf of everyone and involves crimes.
- Example: Punching someone leads to criminal charges with jail or fines.
Civil Law:
- Controls private deals between people and lets individuals protect their rights.
- Focuses on carelessness, contracts, divorces, family law, and wills.
- Example: Whiplash from a car accident lets you sue for carelessness and damages.
Tort:
- A civil wrong.
Overlap:
- Many crimes have related civil actions.